In Too Deep
by AvalonBay
Summary: "Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters."-Jeremy Irvine. When does a simple crush turn into something sinister? Billy understands the best way to turn down unwanted advances is to be nice. Unfortunately that doesn't help. When being unable to take a hint turns Violet McKinley into his personal stalker, Billy finds himself in too deep with no way out.
1. Chapter 1

**In Too Deep**

**Summary – **"Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters."-Jeremy Irvine. When does a simple crush turn into something more sinister? Billy understands that the best way to turn down unwanted advances is to be nice about it. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to help.

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><p><strong>Chapter 01<strong>

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><p>Billy wouldn't ever really say he was shy.<p>

It was just that there were some instances and social aspects he didn't particularly enjoy putting himself in.

Parties for example.

Kim tried to drag him and the rest of their friends to parties as much as she could. Yes, they were the kind of parties that had his classmates drinking until they passed out or hooked up on couches, in bedrooms, and in doorways. There were some parts of those parties he enjoyed; being able to hang out with people he wouldn't usually associate himself with in a casual setting, where he didn't have to worry about being a power rangers.

Yes, some of them were actually enjoyable, when drinking was down to a minimum and the party goers were hanging out with each other. He had moments where he was willing to step out of his comfort zone and enjoy himself a little, but there was still a more logical part of him that knew it wasn't really where he belonged.

It was the same instance with dating.

He had watched Kimberly flirt with guys and Jason and Zack flirt with girls and wondered what it was about him that many girls weren't interested in. While his friends had started to gather crushes in middle school, he was busy tinkering with his next invention or working on a science experiment watching his own crushes from afar. Wondering what it would be that would finally have girls change their minds about him. Then it had just happened that when he had gotten into high school and more girls found him interesting. Marge was the first one that had seemed to _really _see him. He had dated her for a while, and then there was Laura, and there was Melissa—he and the deaf young lady had gone out on a few dates but decided they were better off as friends. And that list wasn't including the few other girls he had met through Kimberly and Trini.

It hadn't mattered much to him at the time, what other girls thought, when he had started to notice the attention that Trini had given him. She was, arguably, the closest friend he had out of the original group and she seemed to have the same feelings for him. But he was skeptical about it. Why would someone as beautiful and graceful as her want to go out with out with him? To put it mildly, he had been confused when she had, in a way, asked herself out for him. Trini was beautiful, kind, smart, and willing to keep other's feelings in check in comparison with her own.

What would she like about him?

A shy guy that preferred to tinker with his toys in his garage laboratory or in the Command Center. A bit of a hermit, if he was honest with himself. And yet, she always had that special smile; eyes sparkling and dimples appearing in her cheeks that only she seemed to manage to do for him. The other smiles she gave out paled in comparison.

They had their own set of problems; Trini's parents had wanted her to date a Vietnamese man and were very vocal about their not approving of the relationship. But they had dated anyway, and while their relationship had continued to grow, they were aware things would end and it had when Trini decided to go to Vietnam with her family. They had parted on amicable terms, he respected her decision they were still friends. However with her leaving as well as leaving the team with Jason and Zack—who were soon replaced by Rocky, Adam, and Aisha—he found himself alone again. So much so that he hadn't realized that he had developed feelings for his best friend, orange ranger Avalon Mitchell, until it nearly smacked him over the head one day. He had been working on her communicator in his lab and, after having had a conversation with Kimberly, when he had suddenly thought about it. It wasn't a question as to whether or not he did like her, but a confirmation. He had kept it quiet as long as he could before telling the guys.

And now it was all he could think about. Not because he, particularly, was that sentimental or cared more than Kim did. But because Tommy, Rocky, and Kim had been pestering him about it all day.

Thankfully, the orange ranger—and his housemate—had an early doctor's appointment that day so he didn't have to suffer from even more embarrassment.

Still, he couldn't ignore the sly looks the white and pink rangers sent his way and the questions that the red ranger had constantly bombarded him with. If it wasn't for Adam—the black ranger, and Aisha—the yellow ranger, telling them to give him some space, he was sure he would have lost his cool for one of the first times in his life.

He had just arrived at the youth center and changed into his workout clothes, leaving to go to the workout floor when Rocky appeared in front of his face once more.

"C'mon man, you have to give me something," Rocky pleaded. "Some sort of information." He reached out and grabbed onto Kimberly's arm, pulling her to his side. As if on cue, the corners of the pink ranger's mouth turned down into a pout as Rocky pointed at her. "See? Kim's starting to lose that pretty smile of hers because you won't tell her anything."

Billy smirked at Kimberly, reaching out a hand and pressing his fingers into the corners of her mouth and pushing them upwards. "Then she's just going to have to get over it." Kimberly's pout deepened and she pushed his hand away, sticking her nose in the air as she turned back to her boyfriend, looping her arm through his.

Tommy laughed, putting his arm around Kimberly, a comforting gesture which she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

Turning so that he was walking backwards, facing his friends, Billy frowned. "I already told you that I'm not comfortable with expressing my feelings as openly as some of you are," he said. "I just hope that you would treat me with the respect I show all of you." He suddenly stumbled, having bumped into someone.

Adam and Aisha reached out, grabbing onto his arms and pulled him upright before he hit the floor. The sound of items clattering to the floor had grabbed his attention and he immediately whirled around, spotting Violet McKinley lying on the floor, fumbling to put her glasses back on her face. Once they were settled she looked up, bright eyes widening when she potted the blue ranger. "O-Oh! Billy…"

"My apologies, Violet, I didn't see you there," Billy apologized. He reached down and started to gather her pencils and papers together, moving quickly so he could grab them before they blew across the hallway.

"It's OK," Violet replied with a shy smile. She tucked some of her shoulder-length chestnut hair behind her ear. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm just excited to get some work done on my art project." She gave Billy a meaningful smile and he gave a half-hearted one in reply.

Behind him, he could hear Kimberly and Tommy try to stifle a laugh.

Oh yes, that sculpture she had made of him, depicting him as a gold power ranger. As she had explained it, he had all of the qualities she believed a power ranger should have. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the thought she had put into her work, he had just been too shy to explain how…peculiar it was to him to be built up like that. It was different when he was a hero that little kids looked up to him to be. But to be, in a way, put on a pedestal of someone else's ideals, the romantic undertones was something he couldn't miss.

"I'm sure it's something the class would find enjoyable," Billy said. He handed her things back to her, before standing up. He smiled at her.

"Thanks." Violet tucked her hair behind her ear once more, fastening her headband so it wouldn't come loose again. "Th-that's very nice of you to say."

"Well, you know Billy," Kimberly said, coming up to the blue ranger's side. She threw her arm around his upper back, gently rubbing it. "He's always been such a nice, caring guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him."

"You're right," Violet agreed.

Billy only smiled throughout the exchange. He was never entirely sure how to react to outright compliments like that. Though he would admit he had been getting more and more female attention since he had taken Jason's martial arts classes as well as some lessons with Trini's Uncle Howard.

He opened his mouth to respond, and then his gaze shifted down the hallway when he noticed Avalon arriving at the Youth Center. She seemed not to have noticed him as she turned her backpack to her look inside it.

"Would you excuse me?" He asked Violet, turning his attention back to her. "I'll, uh; I'll see you in art class."

"Sure, Billy," Violet replied. She clutched her books to her chest, gazing dreamily up at him.

Billy stepped around her and took a deep breath before walking up the hallway towards his friend. "Hey, Ava," he greeted her.

Avalon turned from her locker and gave him a wide smile. "Hey Smurf," she replied. She leaned into him and gave him a hug, which he returned. She pulled back, keeping an arm gently, loosely wrapped around his waist.

"How's your shoulder?" Billy asked. "What'd the doctor say?"

Avalon rolled her eyes. "Physical therapy for a shoulder is not the top of my 'fun things to do' list, yeah?" she admitted. "Especially this one nurse that likes to give me shots, I'm sure she has some sort of sadistic fascination with watching me wince in pain." She ran her free hand through her hair. "Otherwise, I'll be apples."

"That's good," Billy said. "You have ample time for it to heal and you've been diligent about being back to one hundred percent." Reaching up a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck as he gave her a meaningful look.

"What's up, Billy?" Avalon studied him with her eyes.

Billy cleared his throat, lowering his hand from his neck. "Well, we're having another movie night this weekend and it's our turn to host. We just have to figure out which movie it's going to be this time and I thought I'd give you and Kim ample time to argue about it."

"As long as it's anything but that mush of a horror film that Pinkerbell made us watch last time," Avalon said loud enough for the pink ranger to hear.

Knowing their cover was blown, Kimberly let out aloud huff as she walked over to the blue and orange rangers. "It was _Gone with the Wind_!" She exclaimed. "And that's a classic movie! I mean, Tommy liked it." She turned to her boyfriend, who gave her a bright smile in return. When she turned away, Tommy shook his head.

"And I'm surprised _I_ wasn't _Gone with the Wind_ of my snoring," Avalon shot back. She exchanged a smirk with Billy, who pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. "Now, if this topic of conversation is over, I bet the rest of you are dying to hear how my shoulder's doing."

"I'm glad it's feeling better," Billy said. He could tell she was doing her best to act all nonchalant about their situation and that was something he thought was funny about the orange range. She could handle attention well and was good at getting her way, but when it was something she didn't find to be a big deal or knew it'd bring her emotions into, she would downplay it as much as she could.

"Me too," she said.

"Now _I'm_ interested in this," Aisha said, popping up at the rangers' side as Kimberly had just watched the two of them interact with each other, a big smile on her face. Her eyes shifted back and forth as the blue and orange rangers continued to talk.

"Me too!" Kimberly agreed. She and the yellow ranger looped their arms through Avalon's and started to drag her backwards down towards the girls' locker room. "So, tell us everything! I want to know every last detail."

"How about we start with _not_ wearing down the rubbers of my shoes," Avalon protested. Rocky, Adam, and Tommy, and Billy laughed as they watched the girls. "Hey boofheads, I just got told by the doctor that I can't lift for a few days. So unless you want to injure me even more…" Avalon pointed in the opposite direction where the boys were standing."

"Oh yeah."

"Woops."

The pink and yellow rangers let go of the orange ranger and smiling, the three of them walking back over to the boys. "I'm sure that didn't help my shoulder much," Avalon said, rolling it as she walked along.

"As long as you follow the rules the doctor gave you and continue to ice it, it should heal properly," Billy said.

"Speaking of which." Avalon slipped her backpack off her shoulders and held it out to him. "I'm not supposed to carry a lot of weight and I figured you wouldn't mind holding this for me." She gave him a sweet smile.

Billy watched her sweet expression for a moment, feeling his cheeks flush, then chuckled and took the backpack from her as Rocky noted, "He doesn't really have a choice in the matter does he?"

"No," Avalon said simply. She laughed along with the rangers and fell in step with them as they headed off to the workout floor. She fell into step beside Billy and looped her arm through his, hesitating a moment before bringing her hand down and lacing her fingers through his.

"Well, finally!" Rocky declared, throwing his hands in the air. "At least we get something!"

"Leave them alone, Rocko," Aisha said. She walked over to the red ranger and gently shoved him on the shoulder, propelling him backwards.

Rocky's eyes widened in disbelief as Adam chuckled. "Who was the one that was just dragging her down the hallway?"

"That's different!"

"How?"

Billy smiled, exchanging a knowing glance with Tommy; both having the same thought of how easily excitable and rambunctious the new rangers were with every little thing. Sure, things had been awkward when they had first replaced Jason, Trini, and Zack, but at least they were getting used to each other and working well as a team when the time came.

Tommy, Rocky, and Adam went off to get some practice pads so that they could practice martial arts, Aisha went to lift weights, and Kimberly started to get the gymnastics equipment put together. Billy walked Avalon over to the table the rangers usually occupied and let go of her hand. He handed over her backpack and smiled at her again as she sat down before he went to join the other boys.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Violet looking at him. Billy turned to her and she smiled, cheeks flushing, and turned away.

Billy smiled back and turned away as well.

If only he knew the sort of trouble he had just gotten himself in to. Because not only was Violet watching him but she was seething with anger.

Did she _really_ see Billy walking into the youth center holding hands with Avalon? Weren't they just friends? Well, Billy _did _stand her up for a date to the movies. He hadn't said anything about it either. No phone call to set up a different day to go out, no apology, nothing. But she understood, he was probably still reeling from the loss of his mother and was taking any sort of comfort he could get.

She could understand that.

Billy would never try to purposefully hurt her or anyone. She knew that. He was always sweet that way. That's what she really liked about him.

It was something he was going to like about her too.

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><p><strong>AN: **Eh, my first chapters are always short. This was an idea I got off of a dream I had, actually, and I realized it would work well for Billy and Violet, so here you go. This story is centered on Billy and Violet, so working from their heads shall be pretty interesting.

I hope you guys liked the first chapter.

**~Avalon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

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><p>Violet glanced at her watch and let out a dreamy sigh.<p>

Not much longer until she went to the Movie Theater and 'accidentally' bumped into Billy. After he had reacted well to her newest sculpture—a tea set—she knew he would ask her out again. It was going to happen soon, she was sure of it. Not only was he a shy person, but he was starting to come out of his shell, she could see that. He had changed from his constant overalls—which she thought were totally adorable—and had even changed from his glasses to his contacts. It showed off his handsome face even more and she had fallen for him all over again when she had first seen him after the change.

That's what had inspired her to do that sculpture of him as a ranger. Sure, she could've kept the glasses on, but that wasn't the new him, that wasn't how he was anymore. He already had all of the qualities in a ranger that she thought was possible, but he had seemed to increase his confidence levels after having changed and knew for sure that he was right for it. She had been excited to see his reaction when she unveiled the project. Of course, though, she had noticed how uncomfortable he had been with the power rangers sculpture she made of him—it was so cute—she didn't want him to feel like that again.

However, other than saying he thought her execution of a tea pot was admirable; he hadn't done anything other than smile at her, giving her butterflies. Like always. She waited the rest of the class period for him to say something but he focused his attention on the rest of the class as they showed off their artwork. She scowled when she saw how much attention he had given Kimberly and her painting of a field of flowers.

_They were just stupid flowers. Anyone could paint flowers_, Violet had thought as she sat across the room and watched. It was hard work that made a tea set complete with a teapot, cups, plates, saucers, _and _spoons. But that was OK; he had already given his approval of it that was all she needed. When class ended she gathered her things together and made sure that she walked behind the boys, listening to their conversation.

Adam and Tommy had asked him about the movie they were going to watch that night and Violet felt nothing but excitement. So he _had _remembered! She ran home to get ready and had been at work for the past couple of hours making sure she was perfect.

Now she sat in front of her mirror, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup. A quick swipe of blush here and a twirl of mascara there and she was done. Reaching over towards her glasses, Violet hesitated. Should she wear them? She always thought her eyes were prettier without the round pieces of glasses covering her baby blues.

What would he think?

"Billy, do you like my eyes better with or without my glasses?" She asked the cutout picture that was sitting in a frame on her bedside table. She had his single picture as the president of the science club in the yearbook and cut it out as soon as she had seen it. It was perfect; his charming smile and eyes only for her. The cut out picture didn't reply, but Violet reacted as if it had, giggling lightly as she moved her hand over her mouth. "My eyes are beautiful either way? That's so sweet of you to say."

Turning away from the picture, Violet stood up from her seat and checked out her outfit in the mirror. She smoothed over her blouse and skirt, made sure her heels were on tight, and then picked up her purse. She slung it over her shoulder and walked out of her room.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to the movies," she called, hurrying to the front door.

"Tell Billy we say 'hi'," Mr. McKinley called from the living room, where a sports game was blasting from the TV. There were a few grunting sounds and Violet rolled her eyes, easily able to picture her father leaning back and forth on the couch, as if on a roller coaster ride, getting too into the game.

"I will," Violet promised. She had her hand on the doorknob and had it opened, but was stopped by her mother calling her name. With an impatient sigh, Violet turned around to face her mother as she stood in the doorway from the kitchen. Violet flashed her an innocent smile, tilting her head to the side. "I'm going to be late, Mom. Billy's waiting for me. I promise we'll be back by my curfew."

Mrs. McKinley gave her a daughter a worried look, her arms loosely crossed. "Honey, you've been going out with Billy for a while now," she said, voice tinged with light concern. Violet immediately heard it and thought quickly, hoping to find a way to get her off her back. _Can't she see that she's keeping me from him?_

Despite her anxiety, Violet tilted her head forward, allowing her hair to cover her face. "I know," she murmured. "It's just…" she reached up, brushing her hair from her face. "He makes me happy. I like to spend time with him."

"I can see that." Ms. McKinley chuckled. "Sweetie, you've been going out with him almost every weekend for the past four months." She regarded her daughter carefully. "You two must be getting serious."

Violet nodded.

"So when are we going to get a chance to meet him?" Mrs. McKinley pressed. She walked closer to her daughter and smoothed her hair back out of her face. "I want to know what it is about the boy that makes me daughter smile so much, that caused her to come out of her shell." She gave her daughter a loving smile. "You were always so shy, so introverted. It's great to see you this way, now."

Violet's eyes widened as she lifted her head. Her hair fanned back away from her face, revealing her stricken expression. "M-meet him?" She repeated. "You want to meet him?"

"I'd want to meet anyone that makes my daughter smile as much as you've been, sweetie." Mrs. McKinley was more than anxious to meet her daughter's boyfriend, she was excited. Her daughter had always been painfully shy; hiding behind her mother when being introduced to new people, only speaking when being spoken to, and when she did speak; her voice was always light and airy as if she were off in her own dreamland. Then, when she had become interested in boys, she started to turn a bit more into herself, but always looking at the boys that crossed her path with a longing expression.

Mrs. McKinley had tried to get her daughter to push out of her shell. She had tried to set her up on dates with sons of her friends, people she knew at work, even waiters at restaurants and still her daughter was more preoccupied with the science experiments and math homework she could get done. There was always something about tinkering with different elements that had managed to put a bright smile on her face. Anyone that had been able to break through her shell and have her open up so much must've been someone very special.

Turning her head away, Violet gently rolled her eyes. She knew it was bound to happen at some point, she just never expected it to come this quickly. OK, so maybe she had jumped the gun on telling her parents about him a little bit. But it was just so that they wouldn't think she was some sort of friendless loser or something. _They think you're such a social butterfly, now, _Violet thought. _I just want them to be happy._

"Violet?"

Violet turned back to her mother, turning on the charm. "You'll meet him soon, I promise. We just…don't think it's the right time yet." She moved forward and wrapped her lithe arms around her mother. "I mean…especially after what happened to his mother. He, uh, he wanted me to meet her before she passed."

Nodding, Mrs. McKinley fell silent and Violet turned away, as if trying to shield her own pain and torment. It had hurt, actually, to hear that she had been murdered by those crazy monsters that attacked the school. She could see the pain on Billy's face at the funeral and wanted so hard to go over and comfort him but knew it wasn't the right time. He'd probably push her away rather than allow himself to be taken in her open arms. No, she had to wait.

"It might be a bit hard for him, right now, to meet you guys. To know that, I'm still happy with my parents and he's…" she trailed off and Violet moved forward and gave her mother a gentle kiss not he cheek. "I'm going to be late if I don't leave now. I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Why didn't he come to pick you up?"

"Because he had to finish up a science experiment and I don't mind driving. Bye Mom. Tell Daddy I said 'bye'. I'll be home at about eleven or so." She slipped out of the door and hurried to her car before her mother could ask her any more questions.

Sitting behind her wheel, Violet gritted her teeth in annoyance before bashing her fists against the steering wheel. Then she leaned forward and rested her forehead against it, trying to collect her thoughts. _Okay, Violet, don't panic. This doesn't mean they have to meet him anytime soon; they just want to meet him at some point. And by then he'll realize that he really does want t be with me. That we really are meant to be together. Don't ruin it now._

It took a few minutes for her to calm down, for her breathing to return to normal. She just had to remind herself that she was going to the movies that she was going to see Billy. That she was going to ne with the person that made her happy. A smile slid across her face as genuine butterflies erupted in her stomach. Somehow he was the only one that managed to give her butterflies so badly. Not even the wait to see if she won a science competition got her so riled up. Turning on her car, Violet quickly peeled out of the driveway and drove to the movie theater. Once she arrived she saw that Billy wasn't there.

_I must be early. _She looked at her watch. _Plenty of time to freshen up a bit._

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><p>"So what movie are we going to watch?" Bailey asked as she sat on the arm of the couch, facing Billy as he repositioned the couches along the room. "Fred and I just saw <em>Die Hard with a Vengeance <em>at the theatre. It's really good. We can watch one of the prequels."

Billy chuckled as he sat up straight, moving over to the chair on the other side of the room. "I'll take your word for it," he said to her. He paused after having finished arranging all of the furniture so that it was placed around the TV at the best angles so that everyone could see. "I just hope Dad doesn't mind that we're having everyone over."

Bailey tilted her head to the side. "As much as it sucks, Billy, I don't think David minds a lot of things as of late. Besides, if you're worried about him catching you and Av cuddling on the couch I don't think it'll be a problem. I'm sure he and Lacey already thought you were dating." At the blue ranger's embarrassed smile, the purple ranger Bailey smirked at him easily resembling her sister. "Oh come on, we all saw it coming before you two even did."

"Be that as it may, I'm not sure how they'd react to know that we're dating when we're living together." He paused. "If…we _are_ dating…I don't know."

"I'm not much smarter than you, Billy, and even I know you two are dating."She looked at him curiously. "You were never really like this when you were with Trini," she pointed out.

"That's because I didn't have to worry about getting beaten up at a moment's notice."

"I heard that," Avalon snapped as she walked into the room, carrying a large bowl of popcorn. She crossed her arms over her chest. "So I might be a bit rambunctious, but I wouldn't do that." She stuck her tongue out at her sister before continuing. "Besides I don't think David would be able to handle going to another hospital." She lightly ran her fingers over a raised spot on her shoulder. "Neither would I for that matter."

Bailey nodded.

"Besides, he's already asleep," Avalon remarked. "Which is just as well because as soon as Rocky gets here you know things are going to be less than quiet, especially since he's going to somehow, find a way to get Kim _and _Aisha pissed off at him."

Billy laughed along with the girls and went back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food and drinks that were needed for when the rest of the rangers arrived at the house. Though he knew it was only a matter of time until he had to get more, due to Rocky's big appetite. Walking into the kitchen, Billy picked up a stack of cups and a 2 liter bottle of soda. He started to walk back into the living room but stopped when a picture on the refrigerator caught his eye. Glancing at it, he let out a breath, shoulders slumping as he caught sight of a picture of himself and his mother. It had to have been taken shortly after he couldn't figure out how to put her vacuum back together judging by the irritated look in her eyes although she as smiling.

In fact, he was sure she had that look a lot whenever he was doing his own experiments, creating a mess almost every time.

Lowering his gaze, Billy walked into the living room and continued setting up the food and drinks and looked down as Avalon and Bailey sat on the floor with videos sitting around them. "Did you choose anything yet?"

"Not yet," Bailey said. "At the moment Av's trying to hide the romance movies from Kim. And I don't want to have to watch more Stephen King films so…"

"You don't know what you're missing," Billy said to her. "Stephen King not only is one of the greatest writers of all time, but the movies that were created off of his books are a great homage to his work. Just ignore the fact that he had a twisted mind and you can really appreciate the thoughts put into it."

"I'll take your word for it, Billy," Bailey said. She turned to her sister and made the crazy sign by the side of her head, causing the orange ranger to laugh.

Shaking his head, Billy placed the rest of the food and drinks on the table beside the couch. "Times like these I'm glad that Tommy's family is the one adopting you." He turned at the sound of the doorbell ringing and could hear Rocky and Aisha arguing about something through the door.

Avalon popped to her feet and headed towards the door, only stopping to jump onto the arm of the couch so that she was tall enough to lean over and surprise Billy with a kiss on the cheek. "Trust me, Smurf, you're not the only one," she remarked before jumping to the floor and hurrying to the door. She pulled it open and stood back to allow the rangers inside. "You should be happy to know that you Olivers have no competition in trying to adopt us," she remarked to Tommy, placing her free hand on her hip.

Tommy laughed and gave her a quick hug. "That's good to know." He then moved aside so that Kimberly could give her best friend a crushing hug. "I'm sure Mom and Dad would be glad to hear the news."

The orange ranger nodded and motioned to Rocky and Aisha, who continued to have their heated discussion. "So what are those blokes arguing about?"

Fred, who had been standing by the door with Adam spoke up as he took off his shoes. "Rocky invited Kat to come watch the movie with us, and Aisha is kind of ticked because she says that he had no manners and can't just invite people without asking and blah bah blah." He waved a hand. "Personally, I think they're fighting over nothing."

"That's what girls do best, Fred, you should get used to it," Adam remarked, placing his hand on the young boy's shoulders. He waited for Kat to come through the door before closing the door behind them. Kat stood in the doorway, looking around at the rangers before looking down at her feet, almost bashfully.

"I hope you don't mind that I came along," she said. "Rocky invited me and he said it'd be okay."

"It's okay," Billy said, coming up behind his friends with a warm smile. He put his hands in his jeans pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. "The more the merrier. Just as long as you don't mind there being an inevitable fight about what genre of movie we watch. Though that can be just as entertaining as the movie itself. Come on in, but please leave your shoes by the door and try not to be too loud, my Dad's asleep." He gave a pointed look to the red and yellow rangers.

"What are you looking at me for?" Rocky and Aisha harmonized.

"C'mon, you guys bicker like it's your job, he's only asking for you to cool it for one night," Adam said. He grinned at his two best friends before taking off his shoes and following Billy into the living room. He flopped down onto the couch and grabbed the bowl of popcorn, seconds before it was taken away by Rocky. "Hey!"

"Hey, yourself. I need the energy after trying to prove that I'm _not _as selfish as _someone _thinks I am," he said and stuck his tongue out at Aisha, who dropped down on the couch on his other side. The yellow ranger stuck her tongue out in reply.

"I call em' as I see em', don't let me hurt you boy!" Aisha said and then picked up the pillow that was tucked under her arm and hit him over the head with it. The two then burst out into laughter and settled into the couch. "So, what are we watching tonight?"

"You've got a choice between Candyman, Reservoir Dogs, Home Alone 2, A League of Their Own, Mighty Ducks, or Poison Ivy," Avalon announced, moving through the VHS tapes that sat in front of her, fanned out in a circle.

"Wow, Billy, you have a very widespread taste in movies," Kat remarked as she looked over the movies herself. She glanced up at the blue ranger who raised an eyebrow before pointing over to Avalon and Bailey. The new girl giggled. "You should've just said they were yours. I'm sure a lot of girls would like to know you have things that they'd want to watch."

"Or it just means that you're hiding your feminine side," Rocky commented and he and Adam snickered.

"Whatever," Kimberly broke in. She looked over the movies before pointing at one. "What about _A League of Their Own? _I heard it's a really good movie." She then curled up on Tommy's lap as he sat down in the chair. She rested her head on his shoulder as he moved his arm around her waist.

"Got it." Fred took the movie and started to put it into the VHS player as the rest of the group settled themselves down onto the couch and the floor. As Billy sat down on the floor next to Avalon, moving to lean back against the couch, he paused and leaned forward.

_What the…_? His blue-green eyes scanned the foliage around the window of the living room. The wind gently blew the leaves across the face of the window pane, a branch lightly tapping at the window. Shadow danced amongst the shifting of the leaves. _I could've sworn I saw…_

"Is something wrong, Billy?" Bailey's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Leaning back against the couch, the blue ranger shook his head. "I just thought I saw something," he replied. "It's okay. I'm sure it was nothing." Bringing a knee up, he focused his attention on the TV as the movie started up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he didn't show up," Violet murmured to herself as she placed her books into her locker. "We had these plans and he didn't show…" brining her head forward, she rested it on the shelf of her locker. Letting in a deep breath, she slowly let it out through her teeth, allowing her shoulders to slump as she relaxed. That wasn't the part that really hurt, that he said he would go and hadn't shown up.<p>

No, what hurt worse was going over to his house later, to be sure nothing was wrong. Maybe he had a hit of depression and couldn't get himself out of bed. Maybe he needed some cheering up. But no. She had peered into the window of his house and saw him and his friends sitting around the couches and chairs, watching whatever movie was showing on the TV. She had looked directly at him, and then ducked out of the way as Billy went to look at her.

He didn't need to see her so low, peeping in through his windows. No, that would be too creepy. It would make it so that he couldn't trust her that he wouldn't want to be around her. So, instead, she drove around for a while, trying to wrap her mind about why he had lied to her, then went back home. She rolled her eyes in irritation as soon as she stepped through the door and her mother called out to her, "Violet? Sweetie, is that you?"

"Yes, Mom," Violet called back.

"You're home kind of early." Violet could hear her mother get off of the couch and head towards the front door. "Did something happen? Was there a problem at the movies?"

"No, Mom, no problem at all," Violet replied. She kept a straight face as her mother rounded the corner and walked over to her. "The movie was a bust, I said I don't like action films and it was the only thing that wasn't sold out." She shrugged. "We tried it out and I couldn't take much more explosions and guns going off so we left early, walked around a bit, talked, and came back here."

_At least, that's what would've happened if he had shown up, _Violet thought, now shifting back to the present. _It would've been so nice. Strolling along the water, holding hands…kissing… _a blush slid upon Violet's face as she closed her locker and turned, leaning against it. She bit her lower lip as she thought about it. The smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss her, the bright light illuminated in his eyes…it was enough to make her knees go weak just by thinking of it. "It would've been perfect," she murmured again.

"Is that smile on your face because you had a perfect date last night or what?" Violet looked to the side to see her friend, Alyssa Kramer walking her way. She leaned on the locker next to her friend and smiled up at her. "Was the man of your dreams as dreamy as ever?"

Violet giggled with her friend, brushing her hair out of her face. "Yes," she said. "It sucks that we have to keep it a secret, through," she said and pouted. "I'd love to be able to go through the halls, holding hands and showing everyone else that little Violet McKinley has a boyfriend."

"Oh, c'mon Mouse, it's not a big deal," Alyssa said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "You've really come in on your own. There's no way that you're the same mousy little girl that you were when we started high school." She tilted her head to the side and looked up at her friend. "And people are really starting to see that. I think you need to take matters in your own hands and make sure that it's not questioned again."

"And how do you propose I do that?" Violet asked. She looked over at her friend and noticed the mischievous glint in her eye. "What? Lyssa, don't look at me like that." She watched as Alyssa continued to grin before turning and looking down the hall, where she spotted Billy at his locker.

"Why don't you go over and plant one on the guy? I mean, you've been going out with him for the last four months, almost half a year. And I've seen _nothing _in the PDA department from you two. I need my fix somehow considering I'm not living it."

"We can always set you up with someone," Violet pointed out. "I mean, there has to be someone around this school that you like."

"Sadly, Jason Scott left last year and now I'm without the eye candy that I was hoping for to get through his semester," Alyssa sighed. "Otherwise, my attention is now focused on you, girl. I need to live vicariously through you. So go get your man."

Violet smiled before chewing her lower lip. She had managed to keep her secret as long as she could but knew it was bound to come out in the open at some point. _I just have to make sure that it's not a secret, a real thing…_she followed Alyssa's gaze down the hallway and watched, suddenly scowling when she noticed Avalon come up on Billy's side and poke him in the shoulder before ducking around to his other side just as Kimberly came flying towards the girl and wrapped her arms around the her neck.

"And you better do it fast," Alyssa continued. "Before some other girls start to move in on him. I don't mean to worry you, babe, but the guy has dated ever since he got into high school and, frankly, I'm not surprised he and Trini didn't work out. They were just too different and didn't have a lot of chemistry. Not only are you two the smartest kids in class, but you're probably in the run for being co-valedictorian by the end of the year."

"Well…" Violet hesitated. _No, I can't do this. Not right now. _Not when there was a good chance everything would be revealed…ruined before she could actually get her claws in the guy. Not that it mattered much, no one really paid much attention to her, even though she had changed a lot since the earlier years of high school.

"Nope. No 'ifs', 'ands' or 'buts' about this situation. You're going over there right now or else I'll kick your butt the whole way." Alyssa placed her hands on her friend's shoulders and pushed her towards the rangers. "Now go."

Violet stumbled and brought her backpack up over her shoulder. She glanced back at her friend, who continued to wave her on, and took a deep breath before going over to Billy. He was leaning against his locker, listening as Kimberly explained something to him, her arm still around Avalon's shoulders.

"And you don't think that you're jumping the gun on preparing for prom?" Avalon asked, flicking her hair out of her face. "I mean, I get you lot are excited for senior year and everything, but even I think this is ridiculous."

"There's some sound advice in the fact that we're starting our preparation this early," Billy pointed out with a shrug. "That way we can be sure that we have loose ends tied up, money in with the treasurer…"

"And to _please_ not have a lame theme," Avalon broke in.

"Hey, the student life committee is doing our best," Kimberly defended herself. "I mean, Aisha's hand out flyers to help get more students involved, I have Tommy going to the teachers and seeing if they can give some small donations, and Rocky and Adam are going to make sure we have the equipment and everything is rented ahead of time and—"

"—and I'd rather scoop my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than help with any of it," Avalon said once the pink ranger set her sights on him. "Not only am I going to be busy with all of my art work,"—she shook her sketchpad in front of her—"but I'm also going to be a bit busy with my singing classes."

"You have a great voice, Av," Kim said. "I'm surprised that you hadn't done it before."

"Yeah, it'd be good to see you exhibit some of your other talents," Billy agreed. "Apart from your sarcasm, wit, and massive need to be right about everything to the point it can be confused for aggression." He laughed as Avalon punched him on the arm.

"Anyway, we have some things we need to get dome before home room," Kimberly said, looping her arm through Avalon's. "We'll see you later." She dragged the pink ranger off away from the blue ranger as Violet walked up to him. He looked at her and smiled as he opened his locker.

"Hi Billy," Violet greeted him, moving to the side so that she didn't get hit by the metal door. She tucked her hair behind her ear as the blue ranger took some books out of his backpack and closed his locker door once more.

"Hi Violet," he replied cheerfully. "You enjoying the beginning of the year?"

"Oh yeah, I think I'm one of the few people that actually _enjoys _coming back to school," she said. Lowering her hands down to the straps of her backpack and gently rocked herself back and forth. "Besides you, I mean. Have to get those grades for valedictorian, right?"

"Right, you're my competition for it, aren't you?" Billy pointed out. "We've been getting the same grades for years. I hope you don't mind that I'm going to give you a good run for your money." He started to walk down the hallway, motioning for Violet to follow him. "I don't plan on just giving up my spot as valedictorian."

"You're going to have a worthy opponent then," Violet said, suddenly filled with gusto. "I don't plan on giving up so easily."

"Then may the best man win." Billy held out his hand. Violet smiled and took his hand in hers, shaking it firmly. A lightning bolt shot through her hand and up her arm at the contact and she could feel her face blush even more. "So are you excited for another year of science and math club? We have more funds in each of them so that we're able to do more things. Like…we could make that working rocket ship."

"Don't you think that's a bit tired?" Violet asked. "Kind of like a vinegar and baking soda volcano," she said. Billy gave her an amused look, eyebrows rising as he watched her. Violet looked away, thinking for a minute. "We need to do something that won't be as obvious. Like a breakthrough in the physics world. Or some sort of experiment that we can have the students of Angel Grove High to be out test subjects, or…" she continued to think about it and then in her excitement, grabbed onto Billy's arm. "Building our own working computer!"

Billy thought for a moment before looking over at her. "A working computer?"

"Think about it, Billy!" Violet moved to stand in front of him. "Not only is it something that not many schools in the area would have done before, but it would be something that'll give the school enough grant money to get to the National Science Conference in May," she pointed out. "I mean, I know it's far away from now and everything, but just think that we could represent Angel Grove high in a new way if we did this."

"No, I get what you mean," Billy agreed. "I was just thinking of how it would work out," he said. "Not only are the parts hard to come by, but there's also the electronic properties in general that we have to think through."

"All the more reason to do it! You're a scientist, Billy, and a good one at that," Violet added. She then lowered her voice, looking up at him through her bangs. "I don't know anyone else that could handle running the club like you do."

"Well that's quite a compliment," Billy smiled down at her. "Thank you, Violet." He looked at his watch. "Ah, I'm going to be late. I have to talk to Mr. Kaplan about some things, but I'll think more about what you said. If it's possible, we can get all the gear, and then start building the thing." He started to move away and Violet felt his arm slip out of her grasp and she looked down, noticing she was still holding onto him.

She quickly brought her hand back and clasped her hands together as Billy gave her a quick wave and continued down the hall at a light jog, causing his blonde hair to bounce as he went. Violet sucked in a deep, dreamy breath as she watched Billy turn the corner and disappear from sight. She hadn't noticed that Alyssa was still around until she felt an arm go around her shoulders and looked to the side to see her best friend standing by her.

"What did I tell you?" Violet asked, lifting her chin.

"You two are so cute together," Alyssa said. "I'm sorry I doubted you. He's super cute, very hot even. I wish I got to him before you did."

Violet elbowed Alyssa in the side hard enough to knock her friend off her side, her arm dropping in the movement as well. "Ow! Vi!"

"He's mine, alright?" Violet's eyes flashed as she turned to her friend. "And no one else is gonna have him but me." She turned away from her best friend and went to her class. Sliding into her seat, she didn't look up as Alyssa walked in and took her seat behind her. A second later she felt Alyssa poke her in the back.

"Vi, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to go after him or anything. I was just kidding." Violet didn't reply. "C'mon, this is silly to get mad about. I know he's yours and only yours. I don't want this to get between us. You're my best friend, Vi."

Violet let out a sigh and sat up straight. She slightly angled her head to the side so that she could continue speaking to her friend but not bring too much attention to herself in case the teacher was watching. "I guess I can't get mad at you over something as small as this," she said. "I mean, Billy and I love each other. So not even you can break us up." She smiled at Alyssa before turning back to her notebook, writing Billy's name in the corner before drawing a heart around it.

_Billy and Violet forever._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Chapters after this will get longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

* * *

><p>"So then you'd have to carry these numbers over and then you'll have the means to complete the equation and get the answer you're looking for," Billy instructed Rocky.<p>

The red ninja ranger leaned forward and looked over his notebook for a moment before nodding and scribbling along the numbers and figures that were spread across the page. Then he grinned and leaned back in his seat, pointing triumphantly at his notebook. "So that means that the answer is 35.7x"

"Exactly!" Billy agreed. "See, I told you you'd get this. You're not in the advanced math class for nothing." He set his notebook aside and leaned back in his seat, pulling his smoothie back with him. "So what if some of the work doesn't come as naturally to you as the rest of it did."

"Says the brains of the operation," Rocky shot back. He looked around the Youth Center longingly before turning back to the books that were stacked next to them. "Wish we didn't have so much work to do. I could get a workout done right now. Or teach a class." He then turned back to Billy who had opened his history notebook and started on that homework. "Man, how do you do it?"

"Do what?" He looked up over the top of the textbook, blue-green eyes alight with amusement.

"How are you so good at school? I mean, while the rest of us struggle with nearly everything in the world, you can breeze through them in seconds if not minutes. You finish a test faster than anyone else in the class and from I've heard, you freak out over getting anything less than an 'A'."

Billy chuckled as he turned the page, briefly scanning the latest chapter of European History that was assigned for that night. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I've just always been interested in learning as much as I could. Then again it probably didn't help that by the time I was seven I had taken apart, cleaned, and put back together my mother's vacuum just because I wanted to know how it worked. And that's not including all of the different experiments I've managed to cook up in my own bathroom sink, too."

"Something tells me your parents weren't particularly happy with that," Rocky remarked.

"You'd be right." Billy sighed, eyebrows coming together for a minute. "But Mom and Dad have always supported me with it. When I wasn't sticking things in the electrical socket to see how conduction worked out. They were _not _happy with that one." He looked up and nodded as the rest of the rangers came in through the door of the Youth Center, Kimberly and Aisha practically skipping as they went. "Looks like someone's having a good day."

"Looks like I finally get a break," Rocky corrected him, pushing his books aside. "Hey guys, what's up?" He greeted his friends as they sat down around them. "Is there any reason that you two are bouncier than usual?" At the strange looks Kimberly, Aisha, and Avalon gave him, Rocky thought for a moment before saying. "Ignore that, I'm sure I just offended you some way by saying that."

Tommy laughed as Aisha said, "good boy," before sitting up straight. She looked around the table, a bright smile on her face. "I just got the news that my Aunt is coming to town. And she's going to take me on a tour of USC, because she's an alumnus of the school." Reaching over, she hugged Avalon then Kimberly to her sides. "And she said that us girls can stay the whole weekend so we can get the college experience."

"That's awesome, guys!" Adam said. "It sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."

"Aww." Bailey frowned as she sank lower in her seat. "I wish I could go. That sounds like fun."

"You have plenty of time before going off to college, Bay, don't rush it," Tommy reminded her. "Trust me; you want to stay a kid as long as you can. It's the best part of life." The purple ranger shrugged and he reached out and ruffled her hair before she ducked out of the way and batted his hands away, starting a play fight between the two of them. Tommy spoke to the girls over his slap-fight with Bailey. "So is that where you're going to go, Aisha?" He asked her. "To USC?"

"I haven't decided," Aisha replied, moving her braids behind her shoulders. "My Aunt is an alumni and she said she loved it. But there are some other places I'd like to go see. I mean, I still want to become a vet, so I might just go to school specifically for that and USC wouldn't really help." She turned then turned to Avalon and Kimberly. "What about you guys? Have you decided?"

"Gymnastics is for me," Kimberly said firmly. "No doubt about it. I'd really like to be a coach or something, though. Seeing those little kids run and jump around is so cute." She swooned, leaning back against Aisha before turning her attention to Avalon. "What about you, Av?"

"Dunno," she said dismissively, bringing a hand up to her mouth and gently chewing on the fingernail.

"It's okay if you don't know if school is good for you," Adam reminded her. "It's not for everyone and not only that, but there are still those that manage to make a great living for themselves when they didn't attend college."

"I meant I don't know if I'm going to go to school here or back in Aus," Avalon quickly corrected him. "But either way, I don't want to talk about it." She cleared her throat before changing the subject. "How do you guys feel about going to the beach this weekend?" She asked. "And I don't mean just going down to the beach, I mean taking a beach vacation." She exchanged a glance with Bailey before addressing the whole table. "Our Mum is coming into town and she says she doesn't mind renting out a beach house for all of us."

"That's awesome!" Rocky declared, eyes immediately lighting up. "I'm so there!"

"Yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun," Tommy agreed. He laughed as Bailey finally shoved him away from him away from her before turning to the table as well. "Is there anything we need to bring? Food or anything?"

"Yeah, we're going to have to bring up the tucker and some linens and stuff, other than that, Mum has everything covered," Bailey agreed. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she thought for a moment. "It's not until next month or so, to go for a long weekend. And Mum said that she'd like to get to know you guys better."

"I don't know," Billy finally said, turning the attention to him. He nervously drummed his pencil against the paper of his notebook. "I don't think it'd be a good idea if Dad was there by himself for that long." He shrugged. "I mean, he's been back at work, but nights aren't the best for him."

"I was thinking of that and why don't we bring him along?" Avalon suggested. "My Mum's a registered nurse and if there's anything he has problems with or needs to talk about, she'll be there to help out." She then quickly backtracked. "I'm not saying that there _is _anything wrong, he is grieving the way he chooses to, but so that he won't be completely alone."

"That's a good idea; actually, I'll ask him." Billy then looked at his watch. "Do you need a ride to work?"

"I do, actually. I only dropped Bay off so she could get in some quality time with her brother and stop bugging me half to death," Avalon commented. She reached over and placed her hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Good luck with that, Bro." She then turned back to the purple ranger. "And make sure he gets you back on time. I trust your time management more than his."

"Hey!" Tommy cried in protest.

"I'll be fine, Av," Bailey reminded her. "You're looking at the girl that singlehandedly managed to defeat Ivan Ooze without your guys' help so I think I can take care of myself." Smugly, she crossed her arms over her chest as the other rangers laughed.

"Something tells me that she's not ever going to let us forget that," Aisha commented with a light shake of her head.

"Something tells me you're right," Adam agreed. He thought for a moment then suggested, "Why don't we invite Kat to come along with us?" He asked. "She's new here and probably wouldn't' have any plans for that weekend."

"You can ask, but who knows what she'll say," Avalon pointed out. "The place is big anyway, so it's not like the space will be a problem. I just hope she doesn't mind that there might not be anything to eat if Rocky gets to it all first." She lightly flicked him on the ear and then waved to her friends. "I'll see you guys later. Tommy, don't forget to bring her back."

"Geez, I make that mistake once and I'm branded for life," Tommy said with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't worry, Av, I'll make sure he doesn't forget this time," Kimberly reassured the orange ranger. "I'll watch him like a hawk."

"I don't doubt it, Pinkerbell." Avalon laughed and stepped back away from the table as Kimberly took Billy's leftover smoothie and mimed throwing it at her. "Hoo roo." She waved to her friends before following Billy out of the Youth Center and to his truck. Billy climbed into the driver's seat as Avalon tossed her backpack into the trunk and rounded the side to the passenger seat.

He started up the truck and headed towards the bookstore that Avalon had gotten a job at the year before, after working hard to turn herself around from her former gang lifestyle. He had been pleasantly surprised to hear that she had managed to get employment, especially after everything she had done had been released to public knowledge as part of her plea deal with the police so that she wouldn't get a harsh sentence when confessing to her crimes. Her work and study habits had improved as well and despite some of her personality still being part of the life she had lived before, he could see that she was working hard to turn her life around for her and her sister and he couldn't be any prouder of her.

Pulling up in the parking lot of the bookstore, Billy waited for the orange ranger to get, but was surprised when she unbuckled herself and turned to him saying, "I need to talk to you about something, Smurf."

"Uh-oh, am I in trouble?" He teased. When he noticed she wasn't smiling or laughing, he reached out and twisted the keys in the ignition, turning off the car. "Sounds serious. What's wrong, Ava?"

"I was being serious about your Dad," she said to him, twisting to the side in her seat, bringing her knees up to her chest as she had done back in the Youth Center. "About bringing him down to the beach house. Honestly, Smurf, I think he needs some time away from your house. There's too much of your mother there and if he continues to keep himself stuck around the memories of her day after day, it's not going to help him in the long run."

Billy listened quietly to his best friend but didn't respond otherwise.

"And it's not only him that I'm worried about either," Avalon continued, staring hard at him. "I'm worry about you." Billy raised an eyebrow and Avalon mimicked his movement. "Yes, you," she said, poking him in the shoulder. "I haven't seen you grieve since what happened with your mother happened. You keep going day after day as if nothing is going on and your father is the only focus. If you ever want to talk, you know I'll be there to listen. Trust me; I have a lot of experience of watching people die before their time was up. Some I'm not willing to go into a lot of detail about, but I know what can happen if you don't outwardly express what's going on with you."

Billy shook his head, letting out a quiet sigh. "I'm fine," he insisted.

"I'm sure that you think so, but then at some point you're going to realize that you're not fine." Avalon scratched the side of her head. "I know you, Smurf. I know that you're an Aries, that you were born in Chicago, that your favorite food is guacamole cheeseburger, that you like to help other people as much as you possibly can, that you try to think of a way to outsmart your opponents rather than going straight in for a hard attack. That you have a tiny sense of arrogance that only comes out whenever someone is teasing you, that your natural stance is to hunch your shoulders forward and to stick your hands into your pockets because you like to make yourself appear more in control, probably because Bulk and Skull had picked on you so much when you were little."

Billy looked at her out of the corner of her eye in surprise. He hadn't even thought of that. It was a stance that felt the most comfortable to him, just like Jason's was crossing his arms over his chest and Kimberly's was to place her hands on her hips. Then again, he had always been that way, rather standing back, keeping himself away from the confrontation that was coming up because it wasn't something that he felt needed to happen. Instead, he focused as hard as he could on his schoolwork and on the tests and every experiment he could come up with that peeked his interest. Having gotten to join Mensa due to his intellect had helped him a lot in his endeavors, especially in the want to become one of the world's leading scientists.

"Well if you haven't thought of it, Ava, why don't you go into psychology because your reading of body language is astounding," the blue ranger finally said. Avalon glared at him and he chuckled lightly. "Okay, I didn't mean it to sound _that _sarcastic, Av, but you do have a tendency to push yourself into other people's business."

Avalon sniffed loudly and turned away. "Well, excuse me for caring about my friends." She pushed open the door of the truck and jumped out, nearly disappearing from view when she reached the ground. "I'll see you later." She jumped onto the side of his truck and leaned in to reach her backpack in the flatbed.

Sighing, Billy climbed out of the truck and walked after Avalon as she tugged her hair free from behind her. The blue ranger reached out and grabbed onto the strap of her backpack, propelling Avalon around to face him. "You know that's what I meant, Ava. I'm just…" he looked away for a moment before turning back to her. "I'm fine," he insisted. "Really, I am. I'm just worried about my Dad right now. And, you're right; him getting away from the house is probably the best thing for him right now." He let out a breath. "I mean, I might not be able to convince him, but I know you and Bailey probably could, with a tag-team effort."

"That's what we're here for," Avalon joked. "To make sure we get our way." She gently twisted back and forth as she looked up at him. "Are you _sure_ you're okay, Smurf?" She held up her hands as he shifted his gaze towards the sky. "It'll be the last time I ask, promise."

"I'm fine." Billy insisted. "Don't worry about me." He then nodded towards the building behind them. "You're going to be late for work. I'll see you later for dinner."

"Just as long as it's not a guacamole hamburger, yeah?" The orange ranger's freckled nose wrinkled as her eyes flashed with mischief. "That stuff is disgusting."

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Billy leaned down and gave her a kiss. When he started to pull back, Avalon grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to her, kissing him again. He laughed when she pulled back and reached up, ruffling his hair.

"See you." Avalon waved and turned on her heel before hurrying across the parking lot and into the bookstore.

Billy turned and started to go back to his truck then turned when he heard footsteps hurrying behind him and his name called. "Oh, hi Violet!"

"Hi!" Violet hurried across the parking lot and towards him with a bright smile on her face. She glanced over her shoulder towards the bookstore when she had seen the orange ranger duck inside. She was doing her best not to allow the fury she was feeling to come over her face.

Now she knew. Now she knew that there was someone moving in on her territory. Not that she hadn't had to worry about that before, there were always girls around Billy; that dumb bitch Marge, that chick that was Kimberly friend, that deaf girl, Trini, Kimberly….she should've known it was only a matter of time when his 'friends' weren't always going to be his friends. She should've known she had to worry about them at some point. Trini, she could see that coming, they were always together since they had started school together.

Kimberly she had always especially hated. The pretty, popular cheerleader that did nothing but charm people everywhere she went. All she had to do was flutter her eyelashes and she had guys trailing after her in a wake. Enough so that Jason had to pretend to be her boyfriend every now and then as well as Tommy falling under her spell when she first arrived at the school. She had thought one Billy and Trini had broken up that she could slide on in there and her biggest dream would come true. But no. It was like they were all part of a stupid, secret club no one else could be a part of.

_Don't worry, Violet, _she thought. _You'll get in on it soon. Don't let anything ruin your plans._"I was just shopping with my Mom and I saw you over here and couldn't wait to tell you!" She hugged her arms to herself. "I've got a meeting with Mr. Kaplan to see if we can get the materials we need to build that computer. Of course he may need a lot of persuasion but I think I can get him to agree to do it."

"That's awesome, Violet!" Billy said, his eyes lighting up. "It'll definitely give us a good chance to work in our favor if we ask early and give a lot of information to the conferences our project could be entered into."

"Not to mention the publicity it'd bring to the school," Violet agreed.

"That, too," Billy laughed.

Violet smiled as she watched the dimple appear in his cheek. She loved it when he smiled; it reached his whole face rather than just lighting up his eyes. And it was a genuine smile unlike the stretch of the side of the mouth that most boys usually did. She flashed him a smile of her own, taking a step closer to him. "So, why don't you come with me?" She asked him. "To my meeting with Mr. Kaplan? If both of us talk to him, you being the president of the science club, I think we'll have an even greater chance of getting him to agree to it."

"Well, when is it?" Billy placed his hands on his hips as he thought about his schedule. "Kim and I have a lot of things that we need to do for the student life committee and we're meeting up a lot to make sure things go as planned."

_Kimberly, of course. _Violet's face fell into an expression of disgust. _That little snot has her hooks in every boy in the damn school, why can't she just leave one for me? _"I'm sure things'll be okay. I can do it myself." She turned to leave, hiding her face with her wavy hair, making sure he caught sight of the disappointment on her face. "I'll just see you later."

"No, I'd love to come and help you talk to Mr. Kaplan," Billy insisted. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm pretty busy. Let me know when you're going and I'll make sure that I can clear my schedule so I can go with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If news spreads around about our project for the club, maybe we'll have more support. Maybe we'll have more people join the club, you never know." He bobbed his head back and forth. "Either that or we'll have a bake sale like everyone else."

"Don't knock bake sales, Billy, they can always bring in a lot of money. And besides, you haven't tried my brownies yet; my Mom and Dad always rave about them." She rolled her eyes. "Then again, they're kind of biased so I guess that doesn't count."

"I'm sure they're very delicious." He smiled politely and looked down at his keys, gently jingling them in his hand. Sensing he was about to leave, Violet started to speak once more, but was cut off when she heard her name being called across the parking lot that time. Eyes widening, Violet turned and spotted her mother walking towards her, pushing a full grocery cart. "Is that your mother?"

"Yeah, like I said we were just doing some shopping," she quickly explained. Turning back to him she pointed over her shoulder. "I guess I should get going. I-I'll see you in school."

Billy glanced down at his communicator as it went off. He then gave Violet a pained smile as he backed towards his truck. "I have to get going, anyway. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Violet gave him a quick finger-wave before turning on her heel and walking back to her mother, eyes flashing. "Mom, I can't believe you did that! You just embarrassed me. Don't call my name like that!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I just wanted to meet your boyfriend," Mrs. McKinley said with a tiny smile. "You talk about him all the time. And you've obviously very smitten with him."

Violet rolled her eyes. "No one says 'smitten' anymore, Mom."

"I'm sorry. Can you blame me? I've never seen you so happy before and I'd like to get to know the reason why." She thought for a second. "Why don't you invite him over to dinner sometime? We'd like to meet his parents, er, father, if that's okay with you."

Violet sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze was puzzled to the side as she watched a blue streak shoot across the sky and disappear from sight. Letting out a heavy sigh, which sounded more like a huff of indignation, she turned back to her mother. "Soon, okay. I just want to make sure that everything is perfect."

"Perfect? Honey, it's just dinner. We're not asking the President to come or anything." She put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and guided her towards their car. "Now, come help me put away the groceries and we can figure out what we'll have for dinner that night."

Violet smiled as she thought of how impressed her parents would be when they heard all about his accomplishments and saw for themselves how smart he was. All she had to do was make sure that nothing, no other girls, got in her way of that night.

It shouldn't be too hard.

"Sure, Mom," Violet said. "I already have an idea for dessert, too."

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><p><strong>AN: **I changed the plot of the story slightly, not so much that it'll detract from what I already had planned, but at least the tone of the story will change so it's not as serious/dark.

Thanks to _I love power rangers7135, brankel1, and Ashley_ for reviewing

**~Avalon**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05**

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><p>Violet lifted her camera and snapped a quick picture before turning away and pretending to become very engrossed with the back of the little machine. She turned her attention back to Alyssa, who was going on and on about…something, she wasn't sure. But her eyes continued to drift back over towards Billy as he sat with his friends in the cafeteria.<p>

She watched as he said something to Rocky and Adam, who were engrossed in a conversation, before turning back to the notebook that he passed back and forth between himself and Kimberly. Her eyes narrowed and she let out a low growl as she watched the pink ranger reached out her hand and placed it on top of Billy's, a bright smile on her face, before she took the pen and notebook he was handing out to her. At the other side of the table, Avalon, Tommy, and Aisha appeared to be deep in conversation about something.

"Vi, stop." Alyssa's voice caught her attention and she turned back to her friend, eyes wide with innocence. Tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder, she focused her attention on Violet. "You're just torturing yourself now. I mean, how can you stand sitting here and watch your boyfriend with his friends and not get to know them a little?"

_Easy, because I hate them all, _Violet thought, trying to keep from sneering. How _was _she supposed to like them? Not only were they some of the most helpful students in the school, she couldn't ever go a class without hearing about some sort of news that had to do with one of them volunteering about something, but they were just sooo _nice_. They never did anything wrong as far as anyone was concerned.

It was no wonder Bulk and Skull had picked on them for so long. How can anyone stand seeing the 'model' students continue what they did best day after day after day?

"I don't know." Violet shrugged, trying to think of a way to talk herself out of the situation. "They're just so…annoying. We can never get some time alone because they're always around him." She then motioned towards Alyssa. "I mean, you're always with me, but we don't spend every second of every day together." She shook her head. "It's like they're part of a secret club or something."

"But that shouldn't keep you from…" Alyssa trailed off and shook her head as Violet stubbornly ignored her, putting the camera aside and starting to go through the lunch that was on her tray. "Ok, even I know that you don't want to eat anything the cafeteria gives us. It's just too…disgusting."

"I'll say."

Violet giggled and twirled the luke-warm, slightly mushy, spaghetti around on her fork. She tried, once again, to keep her eyes from going over to Billy, but found herself stuck. She couldn't help but watch him. He was just so…beautiful. That was the best word to describe him. His features were soft and in some means slightly feminine and that entranced her just as much as his eyes on her were. His blue-green eyes that seemed to root her in place and make her stomach erupt with a mountain of butterflies all at the same time.

"And why are you taking so many pictures of him, anyway?" Alyssa asked. She reached over and picked up the disposable camera that rested by Violet's belongings. "I mean, you talk about him enough, you're dating him, what's the big—"

Violet glared and pulled the camera back out of her hands. "That's none of your business, Lyssa!" She snapped. "Don't touch my things without asking me first!" Turning, she shoved the camera into her bag before scowling at her friends. "I told you that I'm working on a surprise for him, remember? Don't make this into something it's not."

Alyssa stared at her best friend for a long moment then shook her head. "Okay, Vi. Whatever you say." The two girls went back to their lunch and for a few moments they continued to eat in silence. That was fine with Violet; she just needed some time to clear her head, to figure out what it was she was going to do to make sure Billy noticed her. Noticed her and completely forgot about the other girls that were constantly with him.

_I don't get it, _she thought, eyes going back towards the rangers' table. _I know that he and Avalon live together, everyone knows that. But is there something else going on? He kissed her…_Violet tried to quell the anger that slid over her, causing her to tighten her grip on the fork she continued to twirl in her hand. _Then there's Kimberly. She's always been such a slut. Having guys fall all over her and use them to get her way with things, flirting with them just because she can. Then she turns around and goes after the next guy that comes into the school, working hard to make sure no one else can have him. _Violet's eyes moved back to Alyssa, who calmly poked at a pile of mashed potatoes on her tray.

_The same thing happened to Alyssa. She had been so into Jason, but Kimberly had basically stolen her away from him. Then she dumped Jason for Tommy as soon as he came around, after using Jason to pretend to be her boyfriend. _Violet shook her head, spinning the fork much faster as her thoughts shifted to the former yellow ranger, Trini. _Thank God, Trini left. She and Billy weren't meant for each other at all. She was just so…boring. So…nothing compared to him. Not as smart, not as nice, not as…everything. But now Aisha's here and she'll probably start going after Billy, too._

_I'm going to have to do something about that, and soon._

"Vi! Stop!"

Violet suddenly became aware of a strange grinding sound and looked down to see that she had dug a jagged hole into the plastic of her tray. Ribbons of plastic spiraled up and away from the prongs of her fork, leaving deep divots in the tray. With a shaking hand, she dropped the fork and allowed it to clatter against the side of her plate. She looked up as Alyssa dusted off her hands, pushing back her seat.

"All right, I've had enough," she announced. Violet regarded her with confusion and squeaked in surprise as Alyssa reached over and grabbed onto her arm, pulling her out of her chair and dragging her out from around the table. "I'm tired of you sitting here and moping. We're going to sit with them and you're going to talk to your boyfriend, get it?"

"No!"

In vain, Violet frantically tried to grab onto the end of the table, to keep herself rooted, but Alyssa pulled even harder and Violet came flying out of her chair, stumbling. The quick shift in momentum caused the chair she had been sitting in to skid to the side and tumble to the ground, creating a loud clatter that caught the attention of the entire cafeteria.

Cheeks flushing, Violet held her hand over her face, hoping no one was looking at her. _Oh, please don't tell me he's looking at me. _Peeking through her fingers, Violet saw that the rangers had turned their way, to see what had happened, and laughed lightly; smiling in amusement before turning back to their former conversations. _Oh, he looked at me. This is so embarrassing. _Then Violet took a deep breath as they approached the table. _Don't freak out, Violet. You talked to him just fine before, it's not so different now. _Her upper lip curled as they stood at the end of the table and the rangers turned their way. _I just wish he didn't come as a freaking package deal._

"Hey guys," Alyssa greeted them with a smile and a wave. "D'you mind if we sit with you?"

After a quick glance around the table and receiving no opposition, Rocky turned back to the girls and flashed his ever present smile. "Sure, go ahead and sit."

"Thanks."

Alyssa and Violet sat down at the table as the rangers moved over to make space for them. Violet, sitting in between Tommy and Adam, smiled at the two rangers before beaming at Billy, who smiled back before turning his attention back to the notebook in front of him.

"So," Alyssa practically purred, "what's going on?"

"You mean _apart _from that history test we have next period?" Aisha asked with a light roll of her eyes. "I've been studying for what feels like years and I _still _don't know the material."

Violet felt a surge of annoyance and responded with, "It's not that hard. History is one of the easiest subjects. Nothing changes." With the slight edge to her tone, the rangers exchanged glances. Alyssa shot Violet a look and she shrugged in response.

"Well, nothing changes, but remembering the dates is still hard enough," Rocky added. "Except for the wars, those are easy to remember. But why do our teachers expect us to have everything be so exact when we know everything else surrounding it? I don't think being one or two years off is a big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Violet said incredulously. "Wouldn't you care if people had your birthday wrong by a year? Not only that, but history dates _need _to be remembered because they're all so important. Scientific discoveries, wars, different things that had gone on that shaped our control to be the way it is today all needs to be respected!" She finished her tirade with a scowl.

"Are you okay, Violet?" Tommy asked her after a minute. Alyssa had taken that brief pause to elbow her friend in the side. But Violet didn't care. She couldn't believe Billy's friends were so stupid. It was some of the most idiotic things she had ever heard anyone say.

"I'm fine!"

"Really?" Avalon's eyebrows rose. "Because, mate, it sounds to me like you have a stick up your—"

"I said I'm fine!" Violet glared at the orange ranger as Adam reached out a hand and quickly slapped it over her mouth, effectively cutting the shortest girl at the table from finishing the end of her sentence. Violet sighed for a moment and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. _Stay calm, Violet. You're just going to push him away, and ruin everything if you keep acting this way. Once you have him, you won't have to worry about being around any of them anymore._

Billy speaking up in the next second, not seeing to have noticed the slight disagreement that had gone on around him, caught her attention, "Actually, she's kind of right. Not only does remembering when things that happened show the sense of respect we have for those that sacrificed their lives and their livelihood to allow us to live like we do now, but it's better to make sure that we don't eventually repeat the same sort of things they have done before us." He shrugged. "Those who don't study their history are doomed to repeat it."

Violet grinned. "Exactly."

"Thanks, Dr. Cranston," Aisha teased him.

Violet's smile swiftly dropped one more and Alyssa cleared her throat, hoping to settle the tension around the table. "So, what are everyone's plans for this weekend?" She pretended to stay interested in what the rangers had to say before turning to the blue ranger. "Billy? What are you doing?" Violet elbowed him in the side.

"Oh, well, I was thinking of getting some of my homework done. And then after that we were going to—"

With another sharp elbow to the side, Violet immediately understood what Alyssa was trying to tell her what to do. "Really? I thought it would be a good idea if we started gathering some of the materials that would be needed for the computer." She nervously made the motion of pushing her hair back, though it was already tucked behind her ears and shoulders. "I mean, we still have to make sure we talk to Mr. Kaplan, but I'm sure he'll say 'yes'." She giggled lightly. "I think he wants to win just as much as we do."

"That'd be pretty cool if you could actually build your own computer," Adam commented. He gave a small smile, as small and endearing as ever. "It'd probably be one of the biggest things to happen to you."

"That'd be very impressive," Tommy agreed. "Definitely something not many people can say they were able to do."

"And if we get a head start on it over the weekend, we can get it done earlier and see if we can get some programming on it or something," Violet added. She held her breath as Billy tapped his pen against his notebook for a few minutes, thinking about it.

"I'll have to change some things around, but I think it's a splendid idea," he finally said. Reaching up, he scratched the back of his neck. "That just means that I have to get some of this Student Life Committee stuff done early, but Kim and I were just about to head to Ms. Appleby's office anyway."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. She pulled her backpack up over her shoulder, the movement causing her shirt to ride up over her stomach, showing off her belly-button. "We'll see you guys later." She leaned over and gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek before bouncing up from the table.

"Slut," Violet murmured. Her eyes narrowed as she watched as she practically skipped over to the blue ranger. _Careful, you don't want to pop out of your shirt. _Moving her hands underneath the table and clenched them into fists, nails digging into her palms. Her eyes stayed on Billy and Kimberly's retreated backs. Watching as every now and then Kimberly would reach out and grab onto Billy's arm, put her hand on his shoulder, leaned against him, grabbing onto his hand.

Watched and waited.

Waited and planned.

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much, Ms. Appleby," Kimberly said as she gathered her books together. "I'm sure that this carnival is going to be the best one the school's ever had." She checked her watch before waving. "Bye, Ms. Appleby. I'll meet you in class, Billy. I have to go change out my books in my locker."<p>

"See you later, Kim."

"Have a good day, Kimberly."

The pink ranger waved and left the classroom, going to her locker. The hallways were already empty, the footsteps of a few kids hurrying to their class before it started. Chewing her lower lip, Kimberly hurried up the large staircase at the front of the school and headed over to her locker as soon as she was on the second floor. Pulling the door open, she reached behind her and pulled open her bag. She paused in the middle of transferring her books when she heard a set of a quick moving footsteps coming from down the hall.

Flipping her hair out of her face, Kimberly looked up and glanced around the hallway. She smiled as she watched the heels of a classmate disappear around the corner before the door slammed shut. Until she looked at her watch and saw how late she truly was.

"Oh no," she moaned. "I'm going to be late." She finished transferring her books and reached out to the door, starting to close it. But the sound of another locker door closing grabbed her attention. She craned her head around the locker door, eyes shifting back and forth. "Hello?" She called softly. Closing her locker door, she swiveled her gaze. "Is anyone there?"

She looked around for a few moments, hoping someone would pop out from around the corner, with a big smile and admitting they were playing a joke on her. And yet, there was no one there. The pink ranger sighed then turned and started down the stairs once more. She came upon the landing and started down the rest of the flight when it happened.

She wasn't sure if she slipped or misplaced her foot, but it felt like a set of hands pressed against her back and shoved her hard.

A light shriek escaped her lips as she wind milled her arms, trying to use the muscle memory from gymnastics to keep her balance. But there was another hard shove from behind and she tripped forward, crashing onto her stomach on the top stairs.

Her momentum caused her legs to curl up over her head until she tumbled heels over head the rest of the ways down the stairs, coming to a painful rest at the bottom.

A light sigh escaped her lips as she passed out.

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><p><strong>AN: **Anything else you'd like to see as the story goes on? I have more romance plots coming up with the next chapter.

Thanks to _I love power rangers7135 and brankel1 _for reviewing

**~Avalon**


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